Monday, June 29, 2009

Its a beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

She survived! And she just MIGHT thrive!I saw no hair nor sound of her after putting her out yesterday. My poor mother's heart was in a panic. What if I didn't do the right thing? What if she just runs off for good? Would she survive the night?The other voice in my head said "SO BE IT!!"

So this morning, when I let the other cats out...and saw Chloe meowering on the back deck to be LET IN...I knew she survived the night, and all would be well. She even let me PET HER??! Maybe this is tough love for kitties!

We have a 2 tiered deck..the upper level goes across the main floor of the house, one story above the daylight walk out basement. It's shady and tree covered. There are two stairways going down...one to the basement level, and the other steps 1/2 a level lower down to the hottub gazeobo, where the stairs take a turn and continue to go all the way down to the ground level.She so far has found one stair tread between the two levels that she likes. I tucked a serving of kitty krunchies under the tread with her and she ate. My only worry is that Sadie eats EVERYTHING, and she would eat Chloe's food too, so I have to feed her when the dogs are IN.

I put water out there....

I've watched her exploring, and sniffing, and rubbing her face against everything. So...so far she hasn't decided to run away permanently ;c) At one point I looked out the kitchen window and she was laying on her side sunning herself...and it hit me. What if this is the first time ever that she has experienced the joy of sun on her coat? the first time seeing birds in flight, watching squirrels go from limb to limb? It's a whole new world out there for her and she just really MIGHT prefer it.At any case..this is the way it will be. I'll have to brush her LOTS MORE (if she will let me close enough) Because that long fur is going to attract every weed and burr out there, but it's a small price to pay.

The other two kitties are in/out kitties and they are happy with the arrangement too. No racoons or coyotes or anything find their way onto our upper deck, so if she decides to make THAT her safety zone, she will be well and good. I'll just need to come up with some sort of sleeping quarters for her, and HOPE that she will adopt herself into it. The gazebo should keep her safe from rain...

Today I bought some of that "enzyme" activated kitty pee cleaner from Petsmart. I am AMAZED at how quickly it took care of the ammonia smell that was left after I repeatedly cleaned that area of the carpet yesterday. I'm sold on this stuff. I even washed down the brick hearth with it, incase the bricks had soaked up any nastiness.On the other side of my day yesterday...I finished the binding on the Fungly Fifties "Hands All Around" quilt!

I've got it here on my guestroom bed..and I LOVE this quilt. It was definitely a scrap bag project...fabrics are WEIRD. Look at this one with the stripes and SPRINGS?Low contrast between some of the fabrics she used in the blocks. Her colors were limited to clothing scraps, and she used what she had. Good mix of "His" and "Hers" fabrics, which I love to see in true scrap quilts.Though the fabrics might have been the bare bottom of the scrap bag, the workmanship in piecing them is NOT. This is a difficult pattern to piece with curved seams and inset y seams amongst the star points. The blocks were hand pieced, and then they were set together by machine.The solid red used here and there REALLY pop to me...and I'm glad I added the inner red and outer turquoise/black check border to frame it all. It made the quilt JUST THE RIGHT SIZE! I'm still pinching myself that I found this top for something like $28.00!I'm half done with my antibiotics now, and every day is better and better...I'm really glad, I've got just a few days to get everything together before I head to Oregon on FRIDAY!! YAY!

18 comments:

There is a chihuahua who lives down the street who comes to eat our outdoor cats' food sometimes. When she was there, she would chase the cats off. We put their food bowls up--on a table in our case, but you would have to figure out somewhere that the dog can't reach and the cat can jump to. that might be harder to do with a dog larger than that silly chihuahua, but it is a thought.

Oh poor Chloe sounds like she'll be just fine and your sanity will be intact too. We had a cat like that, just didn't like to be indoors and would pee anywhere he darn well felt. Needless to say, he got kicked outside and spent many, many happy years out there. :-)

Glad to hear she's adapting so well. Could you share what this enzyme stuff is that you used? My dad's kitty has been doing the same thing in his house. As long as he's confined to Dad's bedroom he doesn't seem to pee anywhere other than his kitty box. But he's done a number on the rest of the house.

Love your scrappy quilt. I have some tops I bought off eBay that, shall we say, don't look quite a good in person as they did in pictures. My son described on as looking like a clown exploded on it. And I thought it was the one he would like!! Anyway, they'd probably look a lot better all quilted up and finished.

Bonnie: I love love love that quilt! Whoever made the top would be so proud! If you ever decide to draft that pattern, could you please share it on your website or in a book? I just thought of a great book idea for you...take old tops that you find, quilt them, draft the pattern for the reader, make your own interpretation, and show the two side-by-side. It would sure be eye candy for us lovers of vintage and quirky quilts! I for one would by that book! Thanks for all your inspiration. Louisep.s. I'm glad you still love your cat.

Bonnie.. I too love this quilt you are dreaming and it really is at my house..LOL. The design you picked for the quilting is super as well.. but you are right the fabrics that were chosen I think could not be more perfect!!As for kitty she will survive..it is the neighbours once she gets used to her surroundings. I have a neighbour that has 3 she lets out and they all sun ontop of my poolshed...

We adopted a stray 12 years ago, and because I am allergic to cats, he had to stay outside on the deck. I built a gate to keep the dogs off of the deck and we bought a covered kitty-litter box to be his house. We keep our old towels and use them to make it a bit more cozy. My husband worries about him in the winter and actually warms towels in the dryer for him so that he is toasty and warm.

Couple of things on Chloe1: have her shaved in the spring, her fur will be back for the fall. My 4 persians are done by Petco.2. Sleeping quarters a small dog house with a blanket works, maybe find one at Goodwill, or try your local shelter, people donate for other people to use. Or a large tote with a hole cut out, so she stays dry. 3: If she is allowed back in, there is a product called Feliway (SP) it is happy hormones for cats.Good luck with her. I had a male that was always stressed and use the feliway spay and the plug in. He was good after that.

I totally understand, and it is a very difficult decision. My vet told me that the stress can be just too much for them and they go where they feel safe and she might not feel save w/the other cats' boxes. I ended up locking our 'new' old stray in a sep room for about 4 months w/her own box and no one else went in. I feel for you. And just remember to check for ticks, thick long fur and they get nasty!